Work & commute · West Milwaukee

Work & commute in West Milwaukee, WI

Most working residents leave West Milwaukee for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Milwaukee (35%), West Allis (5%) and Wauwatosa (5%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

63 of 1,924 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,861 West Milwaukee residents head out of town to work, 63 work right here, and 4,759 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Milwaukee.

1,861live here, work elsewhere

63live and work here

4,759work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Milwaukee goes to work

Milwaukee3.5 mi away

35%678

West Allis3 mi away

5%103

Wauwatosa4.8 mi away

5%100

New Berlin8.5 mi away

3%66

West Milwaukee (in town)right here

3%63

Brookfield8.2 mi away

3%60

Oak Creek9.9 mi away

3%56

Waukesha13.8 mi away

3%51

Greenfield3.9 mi away

3%50

Franklin9.1 mi away

2%47

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%650

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far West Milwaukee commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

67%

19%

10%

67%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

10%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Milwaukee is a job hub

2.51jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in West Milwaukee are

4,822 jobs are based in West Milwaukee. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Milwaukee’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Milwaukee

4,822 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities37%

Services (health, schools, offices…)33%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs West Milwaukee residents hold

1,924 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+6%

Jobs based in West Milwaukee, 2013 → 2023: 4,533 → 4,822. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.